5Cp 


— 

7^ 


The  PREPARATION^fc^i- 


MISSIONARIES  APPOINTED 
TO  THE  NEAR  EAST 


BOARD  OF  MISSIONARY  PREPARATION 
25  Madison  Avenue,  New  York 


PRICE  10  CENTS 


BOARD  OF  MISSIONARY  PREPARATION 


The  Rev.  James  L.  Barton,  D.D. 
Prof.  Harlan  P.  Beach,  D.D. 

David  Bovaird,  Jr.,  M.D. 

Prof.  O.  E.  Brown,  D.D. 

Prof.  Ernest  DeWitt  Burton,  D.D. 

Miss  Helen  B.  Calder 

Prof.  Edward  W.  Capen,  Ph.D. 

Prof.  W.  O.  Carver,  D.D. 

The  Rev.  Wm.  I.  Chamberlain,  Ph.D. 

The  Rev.  George  Drach 

The  Rev.  James  Endicott,  D.D. 

The  Rev.  F.  P.  Haggard,  D.D. 

Pres.  Henry  C.  King,  D.D. 

Prof.  Walter  L.  Lingle,  D.D. 

The  Rt.  Rev.  Arthur  S.  Lloyd,  D.D. 
The  Rev.  R.  P.  Mackay,  D.D. 

Pres.  W.  Douglas  Mackenzie,  D.D. 


John  R.  Mott,  LL.D. 

Bishop  W.  F.  Oldham,  D.D. 
Principal  T.  R.  O’Meara,  D.D. 

Pres.  C.  T.  Paul,  Ph.D. 

Prof.  Henry  B.  Robins,  Ph.D. 

Prof.  G.  A.  Johnston  Ross,  M.A. 
Dean  James  E.  Russell,  LL.D. 

T.  H.  P.  Sailer,  Ph.D. 

Miss  Una  Saunders 
Prof.  E.  D.  Soper,  D.D. 

Robert  E.  Speer,  D.D. 

Pres.  J.  Ross  Stevenson,  D.D. 
Fennell  P.  Turner 
Pres.  Addie  Grace  Wardle,  Ph.D. 
The  Rev.  Charles  R.  Watson,  D.D. 
Pres.  Wilbert  W.  White,  Ph.D. 
Pres.  Mary  E.  Woolley,  Litt.D. 


W.  DOUGLAS  MACKENZIE,  Chairman 
FENNELL  P.  TURNER,  Secretary 
WILLIAM  I.  CHAMBERLAIN,  Treasurer 

REV.  FRANK  K.  SANDERS,  Ph.D.,  Director 
25  Madison  Avenue,  New  York 


THE  PREPARATION  OF  MISSIONARIES 
APPOINTED  TO  THE  NEAR  EAST 


THE  REPORT  OF  A COMMITTEE  APPOINTED  BY 
THE  BOARD  OF  MISSIONARY  PREPARATION 


Reverend  James  L.  Barton,  D.D.,  Chairman 
President  Howard  S.  Bliss,  D.D. 

Miss  Helen  B.  Calder 
Reverend  F.  F.  Goodsell 
Reverend  M.  G.  Kyle,  D.D. 

Mrs.  Mary  Labaree  Platt 
Professor  Duncan  B.  Macdonald,  D.D. 
President  Mary  Mills  Patrick,  Litt.D. 

T.  H.  P.  Sailer,  Ph.D. 

Reverend  Charles  R.  Watson,  D.D. 
Reverend  Samuel  M.  Zwemer,  D.D. 


PRESENTED  AT  THE  FOURTH  ANNUAL  MEETING 
IN  NEW  YORK,  DECEMBER,  1914 


Board  of  Missionary  Preparation 
25  Madison  Ave.,  New  York  City 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/preparationofmis00boar_1 


REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  THE  SPECIAL 
PREPARATION  NEEDED  FOR  MISSIONARIES 
APPOINTED  TO  THE  NEAR  EAST. 


The  following  report  was  prepared  by  a committee  of  the  Board  of 
Missionary  Preparation  of  which  the  Reverend  James  L.  Barton,  D.D. 
of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions  was 
the  chairman. 


Some  thirty-three  specialists,  all  of  whom  have  spent 
more  or  less  time  within  some  one  or  more  of  the  countries 
named,  or  have  had  protracted  experience  in  observation  and 
administration  of  work  carried  on  in  those  countries,  have 
been  consulted  by  the  committee,  and  their  judgments  em- 
bodied in  this  report,  which  seeks  to  be  the  expression  of 
the  broadest  experience  of  the  present  day. 

The  committee  has  prepared  its  report  to  serve  as  a guide 
to  those  who  contemplate  missionary  service  in  the  Near 
East.  To  some  it  may  seem  to  present  such  a formidable  ar- 
ray of  requirements  as  to  discourage  those  who  otherwise 
might  offer  themselves  for  service  in  that  large  and  im- 
portant field.  The  committee  has  taken  counsel  of  perfec- 
tion rather  than  of  the  ability  of  a single  candidate.  The 
ideals  here  set  forth  can  be  realized  by  none  except  through 
years  of  reading,  observation,  study  and  practice,  while 
working  among  those  peoples  and  during  furlough  periods. 
The  task  is  great  and  so  is  the  challenge. 

It  should  be  stated  at  the  beginning  of  this  report  that  it  is 
not  anticipated  by  any  Missionary  Society  that  all  who  enter 
upon  work  in  the  Near  East  will  be  able  or  expected  to  take 
the  full  courses  of  training  here  suggested.  There  will  neces- 
sarily be  many  calls  from  the  highly  organized  departments 
of  education,  medicine,  industrial  and  evangelistic  work  in 

3 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


all  of  these  countries  for  an  increasing  number  of  men  and 
women  prepared  for  some  special  forms  of  service.  Spec- 
ialists and  assistants,  as  well  as  workers  in  circumscribed 
localities,  will  undoubtedly  be  demanded  in  the  diversified 
activities  of  the  Near  East.  Many  who  are  not  equipped  in 
the  broadest  manner  will  be  able  to  do  effective  work.  Every 
candidate  contemplating  service  in  the  Near  East  should  con- 
sult his  Board  before  deciding  against  it. 

A.  The  Complex  Conditions  of  the  Near  East 

I.  The  Countries  Included 

The  territory  covered  by  this  report  differs  from  any  and 
all  other  mission  fields  of  the  same  area  in  the  number  of  dif- 
ferent peoples  and  languages  and  religions  to  be  dealt  with. 
We  assume  that  the  field  to  be  investigated  includes  the  Bal- 
kan Peninsula,  embracing^ Albania,  Serbia,  Bulgaria,  New 
Greece,  and  Turkey  in  Europe;  and  on  the  Asiatic  side  of  the 
Bosphorus,  Asia  Minor,  Armenia,  Kurdistan,  Mesopotamia, 
Syria,  Arabia  and  Persia;  and  in  North  Africa,  Egypt  and 
the  North  African  Littoral,  Tripoli,  Tunisia,  Algeria  and 
Morocco. 

At  the  time  of  this  writing,  Turkey  in  Europe,  Asia  Minor, 
Armenia,  Kurdistan,  Syria,  Mesopotamia  and  Arabia  com- 
prise the  Turkish  Empire.  Persia  is  a country  by  itself. 
Egypt  has  been  taken  under  the  control  of  England,  while 
Tripoli  is  under  the  control  of  Italy;  Tunisia,  Algeria  and  a 
part  of  Morocco  are  under  France,  and  the  rest  of  Morocco 
is  under  Spain.  In  the  Balkan  Peninsula,  Serbia,  Bulgaria 
and  Greece  are  independent  countries,  while  Albania  is  at 
present  under  consideration  as  to  what  its  future  government 
is  to  be. 

II.  The  Diverse  Populations  Occupying  These 
Countries 

For  the  purpose  of  considering  the  best  kind  of  prepara- 

4 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


tion  for  missionary  work  in  the  districts  above  outlined,  we 
need  to  classify  the  populations,  which  naturally  divide  them- 
selves into  three  general  groups,  namely:  Mohammedans, 
Christians  and  Jews.  In  addition  to  these  there  are  some 
minor  races,  like  the  Yezidis,  the  Gypsies,  etc.,  which  need 
not  now  be  considered  independently,  because  they  cut  but 
little  figure  in  the  total  population. 

It  should  be  stated  here  that  among  all  classes  in  the  coun- 
try covered  by  this  study  there  are  wide  extremes  of  civiliza- 
tion. The  Albanians,  Kurds,  Circassians,  etc.,  have  an  un- 
enviable reputation  for  their  lack  of  civilization,  but  even  in 
these,  as  well  as  in  other  races,  are  found  large  numbers  who 
are  highly  educated  and  bear  all  the  marks  of  pleasing  re- 
finement. The  widest  and  most  divergent  extremes  prevail 
in  all  religions  and  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

1.  The  Mohammedan  Peoples. — The  Mohammedan  Peo- 
ples include  Albanians,  Turks,  Kurds,  Circassians,  Persians, 
Arabs,  Druzes,  Egyptians,  Kabyles  and  Berbers.  While  all 
of  these  people  are  classified  as  Mohammedans,  they  do  not 
present  by  any  means  imiform  or  homogeneous  character- 
istics. 

(1)  The  Albanians. — The  Albanians,  a very  ancient  race, 
occupy  that  part  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula  which  borders  upon 
the  Adriatic  Sea,  between  Montenegro  and  Greece,  many  of 
this  race,  however,  being  found  in  different  parts  of  Greece 
and  New  Serbia,  while  a large  number  are  in  Italy.  Al- 
though two-thirds  of  the  Albanians  are  nominally  Moham- 
medans, the  great  mass  know  little  about  the  religion  of 
Islam,  many  of  them  not  being  capable,  unaided,  of  going 
through  the  orthodox  form  of  prayer.  They  adopted  Mo- 
hammedanism five  centuries  ago  and  have  for  the  most  part 
remained  Mohammedan  under  compulsion,  without  a strong 
passion  for  their  religion.  While  this  is  true  of  most  of  the 


5 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


Mohammedan  Albanians  found  in  the  Balkans  and  else- 
where, a small  minority  are  stanch  Mohammedan  leaders. 

(2)  The  Turks. — We  first  hear  of  the  Turks  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  thirteenth  century.  Their  growth  in  numbers 
and  in  political  power  was  rapid,  and  to-day  they  furnish  the 
rulers  not  only  for  Turkey  but  many  for  Persia  as  well.  They 
are  a mixed  race.  They  were  found  in  considerable  numbers 
widely  scattered  through  the  Balkans,  but  since  the  second 
Balkan  war,  the  European  Turks  are  largely  concentrated  in 
what  is  left  of  Turkey  in  Europe.  Turks  dwell  throughout 
Asia  Minor,  fairly  evenly  distributed,  in  some  places  occupy- 
ing great  plains  with  their  towns  and  villages,  and  in  others 
sharing  their  villages  and  towns  and  plains  with  Armenians, 
Greeks  and  Syrians.  They  extend  southward  to  the  northern 
borders  of  Syria  and  into  Syria  to  some  extent,  and  are  found 
in  considerable  numbers  in  Persia,  Russia  and  Central  Asia. 

(3)  The  Kurds. — The  Kurds  dwell  for  the  most  part  in 
the  eastern  sections  of  Turkey,  Western  Persia  and  Southern 
Russia,  extending  south  in  Turkey  nearly  to  Bagdad  on  the 
Tigris  River  and  in  Persia  to  the  province  of  Luristan.  They 
do  not  hold  any  territory  exclusively,  but  are  mingled  with 
Turks  and  Armenians  in  the  west,  and  with  Nestorians  and 
Persians  in  the  east  and  south.  The  northern  tribes  have 
little  education,  are  among  the  wildest  and  most  untutored 
races  of  the  Turkish  Empire,  a hardy,  vigorous,  sturdy  peo- 
ple, given  much  to  robbery  and  disinclined  to  prolonged  in- 
dustrious occupations.  The  southern  tribes  are  of  much 
higher  grade.  They  are  not  as  a class  stanch  Mohammedans, 
so  far  as  their  knowledge  and  practice  of  Islam  are  con- 
cerned. 

(4)  The  Circassians. — The  Circassians,  imported  into 
Turkey  after  the  Crimean  war,  are  limited  in  number,  not 
dwelling  in  any  particular  locality  in  Asia  Minor,  but  having 
unusual  alertness  and  ability,  inclined  to  robbery  but  possess- 
ing elements  of  leadership  and  much  native  force. 

6 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


(5)  The  Persian  Moslems. — Persian  Moslems  comprise 
the  principal  population  of  Persia,  a nominally  independent 
Mohammedan  country.  They  are  mostly  Shiahs  and  com- 
prise the  chief  center  and  body  of  that  particular  sect,  al- 
though a considerable  number  of  Shiahs  are  found  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  Turkey.  Those  south  of  Teheran  are  distinc- 
tively Persian,  while  North  Persia  is  chiefly  Turkish.  The 
reigning  dynasty  is  Turkish,  of  the  Kajar  tribe  ; the  language 
spoken  is  Turkish,  sometimes  called  Azerbayan  after  the 
name  of  one  of  the  provinces.  The  Persians  are  as  advanced 
and  enlightened,  especially  the  oflicial  classes,  as  any  Mo- 
hammedan people,  yet  vast  populations  are  still  untouched 
by  the  influences  of  Christian  civilization.  Few  of  the  edu- 
cated know  the  Arabic  language  to  use  it  fluently. 

(6)  The  Arabs. — The  Arabs  are  too  well  known  to  need 
description  here,  being  almost  the  exclusive  occupants  of 
Arabia,  extending  north  in  diminishing  numbers  into  Syria 
and  Mesopotamia,  and  reaching  across  North  Africa,  where 
they  give  place  to  the  Berbers  and  Kabyles,  also  Mohamme- 
dans, who  constitute  the  principal  populations  of  Tunisia,  Al- 
geria and  Morocco.  They  are  the  classic  people  of  Moham- 
medanism. 

(7)  The  Druses. — They  are  a small  group  or  race,  dwell- 
ing largely  by  themselves  in  Syria  and  affiliated  with  the  Mo- 
hammedans, but  often  engaged  in  violent  strife  with  them. 

(8)  The  Mohammedan  Egyptians. — ^These  stand  largely 
by  themselves,  although  intermixed  with  a strong  Arab  ele- 
ment. 

(9)  The  Kabyles  and  Berbers. — Under  these  terms  are 
grouped  a number  of  tribes  presenting  various  modifications 
of  the  ancient  Libyan  and  Numidian  people,  and  the  Arab 
and  Negro  races.  They  are  Mohammedan  but  somewhat  in- 
dependent in  their  faith.  They  form  75%  of  the  population 
of  the  North  African  States  and  possess  many  commendable 
qualities. 


7 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


Nearly  all  of  these  various  peoples  here  named  have  a lan- 
guage of  their  own.  The  Circassians  in  Turkey  commonly 
use  the  Turkish  language,  while  the  Arabic  language  is  used 
by  the  Arabs  and  the  Egyptians,  it  being  the  tongue  of  North 
Africa,  Egypt,  Arabia,  Mesopotamia  and  Syria. 

2.  The  Christian  Peoples. — The  Christian  populations  of 
the  Near  East  include,  in  the  Balkan  Peninsula,  the  Serbians, 
the  Bulgarians  and  the  Greeks;  in  Asia  Minor,  Armenians 
and  Greeks,  and  in  Persia,  the  Armenians;  in  Persia  and 
Eastern  Turkey,  the  Nestorians;  in  Mesopotamia  and  Syria, 
the  Syrians;  and  in  Egypt,  the  Copts.  Each  one  of  the 
classes  named  represents  a separate  and  independent  ancient 
Church  that  had  its  origin  during  the  first  centuries  of  the 
Christian  era.  It  should  be  stated  that  the  Nestorian  Church 
and  race  are  actually  Syrian,  and  the  Bulgarian  and  Serbian 
Churches  were  not  formed  until  the  second  half  of  the  ninth 
century.  In  these  Churches  the  spirit  of  Christ  long  since 
ceased  to  exercise  its  power,  and  formalism  and  nationalism 
took  the  place  of  personal  Christianity.  These  Churches 
have  been  perpetuated  in  the  midst  of  many  difficulties.  All 
have  been,  with  few  exceptions,  in  contact  with  Islam  during 
the  stages  of  its  great  advance  and  subsequent  decline,  and 
have  been  somewhat  influenced  by  the  practices  and  teachings 
of  Mohammedanism.  While  they  bear  the  name  of  Chris- 
tian, there  was  little  in  their  practice  and  teachings,  before 
modern  missions  were  begun  among  them,  that  bore  a clear 
semblance  to  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Their  lack  of  unity  was  enhanced  by  their  differences  in 
language  which,  taken  together  with  the  earlier  theological 
controversies,  accentuated  the  diversities  existing  between 
them.  These  differences  have  been  so  great  that  co-opera- 
tion among  different  Christian  Churches  was  as  unthink- 
able as  co-operation  between  one  of  the  Churches  and  the  fol- 
lowers of  Islam.  Each  of  the  Churches  named  has  a lan- 
guage of  its  own  which  is  embodied  in  the  ancient  ritual  and 

8 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


records  of  the  Church  but  which,  except  in  the  case  of  the 
Coptic  Church  in  Egypt,  is  so  different  from  the  modern 
spoken  language  that  the  Church  services  are  not  usually  un- 
derstood by  the  common  worshiper.  It  is  this  divorce  be- 
tween the  teachings  of  the  Church  and  the  knowledge  pos- 
sessed by  the  people  of  what  those  teachings  consist,  that  has 
led  to  the  necessity  of  reforms  within  the  Church.  These 
Churches  early  became  national  and  are  regarded  as  heretical 
by  both  the  Greek  Orthodox  Church  and  by  Rome.  Through 
the  labors  of  missionaries  some  of  the  members  of  these  an- 
cient Churches  are  in  communion  with  the  Roman  Catholic 
Qiurch,  and  some  with  the  Protestant  Churches. 

3.  The  Jews. — The  descendants  of  the  Children  of  Israel 
are  found  in  all  parts  of  the  Near  East,  being  most  numerous 
naturally  in  the  vicinity  of  Palestine.  There  is  also  a large 
Jewish  population  in  Constantinople  and  other  coast  cities,  as 
Salonica  and  Smyrna,  as  well  as  in  Yemen,  Baghdad,  Cairo 
and  Morocco.  While  emphasizing  in  a marked  degree  the 
use  of  their  racial  language,  they  also  speak  the  language  of 
the  people  among  whom  they  dwell.  In  Western  Turkey  the 
Jews  make  much  use  of  the  Spanish  language. 

In  order  to  avoid  confusion,  we  mention  here  but  the  three 
classes  above  indicated.  They  constitute  the  great  mass  of 
the  population  of  the  entire  field  covered,  the  other  races  be- 
ing small  and  with  slight  influence  upon  the  country.  They 
include  the  populations  of  the  Near  East  among  whom  and 
for  whom  missionary  work  has  been  inaugurated.  Each 
class  constitutes  a specific  mission  problem,  requiring  special 
preparation  to  meet  its  peculiar  requirements,  as  will  be  ap- 
parent, when  we  take  into  consideration  the  different  relig- 
ious and  historic  points  of  view  of  the  three  classes.  There 
is  a certain  similarity  running  through  the  Mohammedan  peo- 
ples, while  there  exist  many  racial  differences.  The  same  is 
true  of  the  Christians,  thus  constituting  an  extensive  variety 
within  a single  class.  We  cannot  at  this  time  undertake  to 


9 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


clear  up  the  race  confusion  that  exists  in  Syria,  Mesopotamia, 
Egypt  and  North  Africa.  For  centuries  there  has  continued 
a mixing  of  races,  not  necessary  to  trace  in  this  paper,  but  of 
great  interest  to  the  missionary  and  not  without  deep  sig- 
nificance to  his  work. 

It  would  be  difficult,  probably  impossible,  for  one  to  pre- 
pare himself  for  the  most  successful  missionary  work  among 
all  three  classes.  The  missionaries  in  these  fields,  as  well  as 
the  experts  who  have  been  consulted,  are  generally  agreed 
that  the  missionary  preparing  himself  for  work  in  the  Near 
East  should  do  so  with  one  of  these  specific  classes  of  popu- 
lation in  view.  He  should  prepare  primarily  either  for  work 
among  Mohammedans,  for  work  among  Christians,  or  for 
work  among  Jews.  And  yet  for  some  time  to  come  one  who 
contemplates  work  for  Moslems  may  be  compelled  to  begin 
work  among  some  one  of  the  Christian  races.  The  fact  must 
not  be  lost  sight  of,  indeed  it  should  be  strongly  emphasized, 
that  these  races  are  in  many  different  particulars  the  open 
door  of  approach  to  the  Mohammedans.  Very  generally  they 
speak  the  language  of  the  Turkish  Alohammedans  or  the 
Arabs. 

Hitherto  in  the  Near  East  there  has  been  little  direct,  open, 
special  preparation  for  work  among  any  of  the  Mohammedan 
races.  For  some  of  those  mentioned  above,  such  as  the  Al- 
banians, Kurds,  Circassians  and  Druzes,  there  has  been  al- 
most no  sustained  effort,  while  the  work  that  has  been  done 
for  the  Turks,  Egyptians,  Persians  and  Arabs  has  hardly  as- 
sumed, even  to  the  present  time,  the  form  of  a specific  move- 
ment under  a fixed  plan  and  policy.  Nearly  all  of  the  Ameri- 
can missionaries  to  these  countries  have  prepared  themselves 
for  work  among  the  Christian  races  rather  than  among  Mo- 
hammedans and  Jews.  This  has  been  done  with  the  primary 
aim  of  preparing  Christian  leaders  to  become  direct  pro- 
moters of  Christianity  among  the  Moslem  races,  the  mission- 
aries therefore  reaching  the  Moslems  only  indirectly.  Many 


10 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


of  these  missionaries  do  not  speak  any  of  the  languages 
spoken  by  the  Moslems  and  have  little  or  no  contact  with 
them.  Only  in  comparatively  recent  years  have  these  mis- 
sionaries, whose  primary  attention  has  been  directed  toward 
Christian  peoples,  begun  to  plan  for  and  develop  a work  for 
Mohammedans.  In  Persia,  perhaps  more  than  in  any  other 
region  north  of  Arabia,  the  missionaries  learn  mainly  the 
language  spoken  by  Moslems  and  work  primarily  for  them. 

The  statement  will  probably  be  unchallenged,  that  one  who 
is  going  out  with  a definite  purpose  to  reach  the  Jews  will 
need  to  prepare  himself  especially  for  that  particular  people. 

Among  all  these  peoples  there  are  marked  national  char- 
acteristics and  a great  variety  in  the  degrees  of  civilization 
and  education  which  characterize  each  race,  and  the  different 
peoples  within  each  race.  These  differences  have  become 
more  marked  in  the  last  generation  than  before.  Modern 
education  and  Western  enlightenment  have  entered  all  of 
these  countries  to  a greater  or  less  degree,  and  out  of  each  one 
of  the  races  there  have  come  conspicuous  leaders  who  have 
been  quick  to  catch  the  spirit  of  the  times,  while  other  great 
sections  of  the  race  or  nation  have  remained  in  their  original 
Oriental  darkness.  These  facts,  together  with  the  variety  of 
languages  and  local  political  conditions,  have  their  bearing 
directly  on  the  necessary  missionary  preparation  for  work 
among  these  peoples. 

B.  Courses  of  Study  for  Candidates  for  Mission 
Service  in  the  Near  East 

I.  The  Requirements  for  Work  Among 
Moslem  Peoples 

1.  A Mastery  of  the  Language. — It  is  impossible  to  over- 
emphasize the  necessity  of  a complete  mastery  of  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Mohammedan  race  one  wishes  to  influence.  For 
work  among  Moslem  peoples  some  knowledge  of  Arabic  is 
of  primary  importance.  This  is  pre-eminently  true  for  all  of 


11 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


North  Africa,  Arabia  and  Syria.  It  holds  good  also  in  per- 
haps a lesser  degree  for  the  Mohammedans  of  Turkey,  since 
Arabic  enters  to  a considerable  degree  into  the  vocabulary 
and  construction  of  the  Turkish  language,  and  most  educated 
Turks  know  some  Arabic.  Whoever  can  show  that  he  has 
an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  Arabic  language,  and  can  quote 
correctly  from  the  Koran  and  from  other  Arabic  books,  com- 
mands an  avenue  of  approach  to  any  educated  Mohammedan 
throughout  the  Near  East.  Arabic  is  the  religious  language 
of  the  Moslems. 

The  Persians  do  not  speak  Arabic,  and  few  of  them  are 
able  to  read  it.  The  use  of  this  language  would  be  of  less 
immediate  value  in  Persia,  and  among  the  Kurds  and  Al- 
banians, than  among  any  other  Mohammedan  race  named. 
Yet  even  in  Persia  the  ability  to  quote  the  Koran  in  the  origi- 
nal is  of  value,  while  where  Arabic  is  the  vernacular  it  is  of 
great  importance.  Discussing  the  necessity  of  a thorough 
knowledge  of  the  Arabic  language,  one  who  has  spent  many 
years  among  educated  Moslems  in  Egypt  declares  that  the 
misquotation  of  a passage  from  the  Koran  on  the  part  of  a 
missionary  would  impair,  if  not  completely  destroy,  that  per- 
son’s influence  over  the  Moslem  with  whom  he  was  talking, 
or  the  congregation  whom  he  was  addressing.  To  a Moham- 
medan the  mispronunciation  of  any  syllable  or  word  in  their 
sacred  book  is  as  much  of  a sin  as  breaking  a commandment 
of  the  Decalogue.  He  says : “I  have  seen  a whole  congrega- 
tion of  Moslems  rise  and  leave  the  room  merely  o;n  account 
of  the  inaccuracy  of  quotation  and  pronunciation  of  a speak- 
er.” An  experienced  missionary  from  Constantinople  states 
that  he  has  always  found  the  Mohammedans  uniformly  cour- 
teous to  a foreigner’s  mistakes  in  accent  and  pronunciation 
and  ready  to  listen  to  one  showing  idiomatic  use  of  the  lan- 
guage. In  Egypt  an  immense  mass  of  Moslems  know  noth- 
ing of  literary  Arabic,  to  work  among  whom  only  ordinary 
Arabic  preparation  is  demanded. 


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PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


Whatever  other  preparation  may  be  demanded  for  work 
among  Mohammedans  in  the  Near  East,  there  must  be  a 
painstaking  and  careful  preparation  in  the  mastery  of  the 
languages  they  speak,  and  in  many  cases  this  means  a thor- 
ough foundation  knowledge  of  the  Arabic,  accompanied  by 
some  vernacular,  as,  for  instance,  that  spoken  by  the  Turks. 
The  principal  exception,  as  above  named,  would  be  for  work 
among  Persians,  Albanians,  uneducated  Egyptians,  the 
Kurds  and  peasant  Turks. 

2.  A Thorough  Knowledge  of  the  Life  of  Mohammed, 
including  that  Life  as  Written  by  Mohammedans  and  Ac- 
cepted by  the  Sect  among  Which  One  Works. — This  means 
more  than  a superficial  knowledge  of  the  dates  of  his  birth, 
of  the  Hejira,  and  of  his  death.  It  must  include  the  careful, 
analytical  understanding  of  his  development  and  experiences, 
so  that  allusions  made  by  the  Mohammedans  to  some  detail  in 
the  life  of  their  prophet  may  be  quickly  comprehended.  Such 
a knowledge  will  be  immediately  and  always  useful  to  a mis- 
sionary who  has  occasion  to  refer  to  the  prophet  of  Islam  in 
conversation  and  in  public  address.  The  life  of  Mohammed 
should  be  studied  sympathetically,  not  with  a view  to  criticiz- 
ing or  condemning,  but  with  a view  to  understanding  him  in 
the  period  in  which  he  rose  and  in  the  midst  of  the  surround- 
ings in  which  his  life  was  passed. 

3.  A Knowledge  of  the  History  of  Islam. — It  is  approxi- 
mately as  necessary  for  a missionary  working  among  Mo- 
hammedans to  know  the  story  of  the  rise  and  development  of 
that  religion  as  to  know  the  history  of  the  Christian  faith 
which  he  is  commissioned  to  teach.  It  is  not  impossible  that 
one  of  the  main  reasons  why  Mohammedans  have  as  yet  been 
so  little  influenced  by  Christianity  is  that  the  Christians  who 
have  come  closest  in  touch  with  them  have  generally  been  so 
out  of  touch  with  the  story  of  their  Moslem  faith.  As  in  the 
life  of  Mohammed,  so  in  the  history  of  Islam,  the  student 
should  study  its  development  in  relation  to  the  times  in  which 


13 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


it  was  established,  should  trace  its  growth  and  the  reasons 
therefor,  should  master  its  principles  as  applied  by  its  various 
successive  leaders,  as  well  as  know  the  changes  that  have 
come  over  Islam  in  its  contact  with  other  races  and  its  de- 
velopment under  different  governments.  In  a word,  the  one 
who  expects  to  exert  a dominant  and  permanent  influence 
over  Mohammedans  must  have  a wide  knowledge  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  religion  in  which  Mohammedans  believe,  which 
they  are  eager  to  propagate,  and  for  which  so  many  of  them 
are  ready  to  die. 

4.  A Knowledge  of  the  Content  of  Mohammedanism  as 
set  forth  in  the  Koran  and  in  T radition. — It  is  impossible  for 
one  to  get  into  sympathic  relations  with  a Mohammedan  until 
he  is  able  to  look  upon  the  Mohammedan’s  religion  from  his 
point  of  view.  Whoever  is  able  to  prove  to  the  Mohamme- 
dan that  he  knows  his  religion  and  the  traditions  that  sur- 
round it,  will  from  that  very  fact  exercise  an  influence  that 
can  be  obtained  in  no  other  way.  A missionary  should  be 
able  to  quote  from  the  Koran  and  from  the  sacred  writings 
of  Islam  with  facility  and  accuracy.  An  eminent  worker 
among  Mohammedans  writes : 

“The  missionary  to  Moslems  must  be  familiar  with  the  Koran, 
especially  those  parts  of  it  in  which  are  mentioned  the  doctrines, 
the  practices,  or  the  history  of  the  Christian  religion.  He  ought 
to  be  thoroughly  prepared  to  meet  all  the  attacks  usually  made  by 
the  Moslem  sheikhs  against  the  Scriptures  of  the  Christians  and 
the  Christian  religion,  being  able  to  quote  from  memory  and  with- 
out making  the  slightest  mistake  in  the  words  or  in  the  pronuncia- 
tion, passages  from  the  Koran  in  confirmation  of  his  arguments.” 

5.  A Knozvledge  of  the  References  of  the  Koran  and  of 
Moslem  Tradition  to  Christ  and  the  Christian  Scriptures. — 
A correct  and  properly  pronounced  quotation  from  the  Koran 
always  appeals  to  the  Moslem.  If  the  Christian  missionary 
makes  himself  familiar  with  the  references  to  Christ  and 
Christianity  in  their  sacred  book  and  in  their  almost  equally 
sacred  traditions,  and  if  he  knows  the  interpretation  put  upon 


14 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


these  passages  by  the  great  commentaries  on  the  Koran,  he 
will  be  armed  with  a weapon  of  tremendous  power  to  use  in 
his  personal  contact  with  individual  Mohammedans,  as  well 
as  in  public  preaching. 

6.  The  History  and  Peculiarities  of  the  Particular  Branch 
of  Moslems  Among  Whom  One  Works. — If  one  is  to  work  in 
Arabia  he  will  necessarily  deal  with  the  foundations  of  Islam 
primarily,  and  he  should  know  the  story  of  the  development 
of  Islam  in  Arabia  to  the  present  hour.  In  Persia  he  needs 
to  know  in  what  respect  the  Mohammedans  of  Persia  differ 
in  their  fundamental  beliefs  from  the  Mohammedans  of  Tur- 
key or  of  Arabia.  He  should  understand  the  development  by 
which  Sheikhism  passed  into  Babism  and  Babism  into  Baha- 
ism.  He  must  be  able  to  do  justice  to  the  ordinary  character- 
istics and  devotion  which  these  different  groups  show.  If  he 
is  among  the  Turks,  he  should  know  the  peculiar  beliefs  of 
this  race,  their  development  and  growth,  wherein  they  differ 
from  other  Mohammedan  races,  their  claims  as  keepers  of 
the  sacred  relics  of  Mohammed  and  as  possessing  in  their 
Sultan  the  true  Caliph.  If  among  the  Albanians,  he  should 
know  the  story  and  history  of  their  development  and  their 
peculiarities  as  Mohammedans,  as  well  as  their  Christian  his- 
tory before  their  compulsory  conversion  to  Islam.  So  one 
must  study  any  and  all  of  the  Moslem  races. 

7.  An  Acquaintance  with  the  Different  Sects  of  Islam, 
with  Their  Ideals  and  Literatures. — This  is  of  real  impor- 
tance, since  Mohammedanism  is  broken  up  into  many  differ- 
ent sects,  brotherhoods,  or  classes,  each  with  special  leaders 
and  with  a variety  of  ideals  and  rituals  and  practices.  There 
is  much  of  this  knowledge  yet  to  be  investigated,  calling  for 
careful  research  upon  the  part  of  one  who  would  influence 
Mohammedans  in  the  highest  degree  and  become  their  re- 
ligious leader.  He  should  understand  their  ritualistic  and 
sacramentarian  forms  of  religion.  These  will  give  him  a 
new  breadth  of  sympathy,  and  introduce  him  into  their  dis- 


15 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


tinctly  mystical  ways  of  thinking.  Even  systems  of  educa- 
tion and  methods  of  instruction  must  be  adapted  to  local  con- 
ditions. 

8.  The  Capacity  for  Sympathetic  Consideration  of  the 
Mohammedan  Point  of  View. — If  the  topics  above  men- 
tioned are  carefully  studied,  the  student  will  inevitably  come 
into  sympathetic  relations  with  those  for  whom  he  is  to  work 
and  will  obtain,  in  a measure  at  least,  the  Mohammedan  point 
of  view  regarding  God,  redemption,  Mohammed,  Christ,  the 
Koran,  the  New  Testament,  life,  sin  and  immortality.  With- 
out this  sympathetic  approach  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
his  time  will  be  wasted  and  his  life  and  effort  thrown  away  in 
endeavoring  to  lead  the  Moslem  races  into  a sympathetic  con- 
sideration of  the  claims  of  Jesus  Christ  to  be  the  Saviour  and 
Redeemer  of  men.  Too  much  emphasis  cannot  be  laid  upon 
this  attitude  and  frame  of  mind.  It  is  of  more  importance 
than  any  intellectual  mastery  of  Islam. 

9.  Some  Knowledge  of  the  Historic  Relations  Existing  at 
the  Present  Time  Betzveen  Islam  and  the  Churches  with 
Which  It  Has  Come  in  Contact. — There  is  no  doubt  that  the 
contact  of  Islam  with  Christianity  has  had  its  effect  upon 
both  religions.  Some  influence  from  Christianity  and  Chris- 
tian practices  has  crept  into  Islam  because  of  centuries  of  re- 
lations with  the  Christian  Churches  of  the  Near  East.  This 
aspect  of  Mohammedanism  has  not  been  widely  investigated, 
and  calls  for  careful  study  upon  the  ground. 

10.  A Knowledge  of  the  Attempts  Already  Made  to  Lead 
Moslems  to  Christ,  and  the  Successes  and  Failures  of  These 
Attempts. — Efforts  in  this  direction  have  been  made  within 
the  Near  East,  as  well  as  in  India  and  the  Dutch  East  Indies, 
and  therefore  have  special  relations  to  the  work  yet  to  be 
done  in  that  direction  within  the  same  territory. 

11.  A Knowledge  of  Islam  as  Modified  by  Contact  with 
the  West  During  the  Nineteenth  Century. — The  Mohamme- 
danism of  Constantinople  differs  materially  from  that  of 


16 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


Persia  and  Arabia,  and  much  of  the  difference  is  due  to  the 
Europeanizing  of  Constantinople  and  the  education  in  Euro- 
pean institutions  of  many  leading  Moslems.  There  is  a 
marked  difference  between  the  Mohammedanism  of  the  west- 
ern part  of  Turkey  and  that  at  Cairo,  the  latter  having  pre- 
served more  fully  the  traditions  of  Islam  and  having  more 
successfully  checked  the  inroads  of  Western  scientific,  philo- 
sophical and  religious  teaching.  One  cannot  obtain  a com- 
plete knowledge  of  Mohammedanism  to-day  in  the  Near  East 
from  books,  especially  those  that  deal  with  its  early  history 
and  the  claims  and  content  of  its  faith.  The  modern  mission- 
ary meets  and  deals  with  a modified  Mohammedanism,  and 
it  is  this  he  should  know  and  understand. 

12.  Modern  Languages. — A knowledge  of  French,  Ger- 
man or  Italian  will  greatly  increase  the  influence  of  a mis- 
sionary among  educated  Moslems  in  large  cities.  Much  re- 
cent literature  on  Islam  exists  only  in  these  languages. 

12>.  A Thorough  and  Comprehensive  Knowledge  of  the 
Christian  Bible. — This  means  a quoting  knowledge  of  the 
important  passages  that  lie  at  the  foundation  and  centre  of 
the  Christian  plan  of  redemption,  or,  in  other  words,  a work- 
able Biblical  Theology. 

One  who  has  spent  nearly  fifty  years  in  Turkey  in  con- 
spicuously successful  work  writes : “In  these  discussions  it 
seems  to  be  tacitly  taken  for  granted  that  Christianity,  in 
order  to  succeed,  must  make  its  entrance  through  the  highest 
and  most  intellectually  cultivated  classes,  and  work  down- 
ward. We  who  are  the  most  earnest  advocates  of  liberal 
education  in  missions,  and  have  struggled — almost  fought 
for  it,  feel,  at  the  same  time,  the  tremendous  significance  of 
the  simple  Gospel  among  simple-minded  peoples.” 

II.  The  Requirements  for  Work  Among  Christian 

Churches 

As  has  already  been  stated,  most  of  the  missionary  work 
hitherto  carried  on  in  the  Near  East  has  been  among  and 

17 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


through  some  of  these  Christian  Churches,  a list  of  which  has 
already  been  given.  The  effort  has  been  directed  to  two  spe- 
cific ends.  First,  the  reformation  of  the  Churches  them- 
selves, by  providing  their  members  with  the  Bible  in  the 
modern  spoken  language  of  their  people,  which  they  did  not 
have  previously,  and  by  elevating  the  standards  of  education 
and  moral  character  in  their  clergy.  Such  a policy  has 
sought  to  provide  wholesome  general  Christian  instruction, 
and  it  alone  was  an  adequate  and  worthy  end  of  missionary 
endeavor.  At  the  same  time  there  has  always  been  a pur- 
pose, underlying  all  and  running  through  all,  to  make  these 
Churches  when  reformed  the  basis  for  a Christian  advance 
upon  the  surrounding  Mohammedan  populations.  These 
Churches  are  scattered  throughout  most  of  the  Near  East 
and  are  all  directly  in  contact  with  their  Mohammedan 
neighbors.  As  the  membership  of  these  Churches  has  been 
unusually  alert  to  catch  the  spirit  of  modern  education,  and 
to  develop  educational  institutions  and  systems  of  schools  for 
their  own  membership,  an  unusual  opportunity  has  been  pre- 
sented to  raise  up  from  among  the  Christian  populations  edu- 
cated men  and  women,  ready  to  take  up  evangelistic  work  for 
the  Mohammedans  and  to  become  the  nucleus  and  centre  of 
a real  Christian  advance  among  all  the  Moslem  populations. 
The  endeavor  has  not  been  without  many  examples  of  marked 
success.  In  Persia,  Protestant  Nestorians  have  exhibited 
much  readiness  and  adaptability  in  evangelizing  Moslems. 
The  failure  of  the  Christian  Churches  to  exemplify  vital 
Christianity  has  been  a great  stumbling-block  in  the  approach 
to  the  Moslems.  Undoubtedly  this  method  of  approach  to 
the  Mohammedans  will  still  be  employed  in  some  sections, 
since  it  is  impossible  to  think  of  an  extensive  propaganda, 
carried  on  among  the  large  Mohammedan  populations  wholly 
by  foreign  missionaries.  We  may  therefore  expect  that  the 
work  within  the  Churches  and  for  them  will  need  to  be 
pressed  throughout  the  present  missionary  generation.  The 

IS 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


question  therefore  is : What  special  preparation  is  necessary 
for  one  who  contemplates  work  among  and  through  the 
Christian  Churches  ? 

The  following  subjects  connected  with  the  Oriental 
Churches  require  special  consideration : 

1.  The  History  of  Each  Church. — A candidate  should 
make  himself  familiar  with  the  history  of  the  origin,  develop- 
ment and  life  of  the  Church  or  Churches  with  which  he  is  to 
be  connected  and  in  which  and  through  which  he  is  to  work. 
Each  one  of  the  Oriental  Churches  has  had  a distinct  history 
of  its  own,  covering  the  period  of  its  organization,  develop- 
ment and  decline.  While  general  Church  history  is  of  very 
great  importance  to  all  missionaries,  and  equally  if  not  un- 
usually necessary  to  those  who  are  planning  to  work  within 
one  of  the  ancient  Churches,  the  detailed  history  of  the 
Church  with  which  he  is  to  be  closely  connected  is  of  even 
greater  importance. 

2.  Its  Creeds  and  Practices. — One  should  not  only  make 
himself  familiar  with  the  history  of  the  Church  with  which 
he  is  to  work,  but  he  should  make  himself  master  of  the  creed 
of  that  Church  and  the  practices  which  have  grown  out  of 
this  creed,  from  the  earlier  time  down  to  its  present  life  and 
development.  The  reason  for  the  separation  of  these 
Churches  into  different  groups  can  in  most  cases  be  found  in 
their  differences  of  belief  and  can  be  traced  back  to  some 
ecclesiastical  council.  These  differences  of  belief  have  had 
much  to  do  with  shaping  the  life  of  the  Church  itself,  and  no 
one  can  hope  to  put  himself  into  sympathetic  relations  with 
any  one  of  these  ancient  and  important  ecclesiastical  organ- 
izations without  being  familiar  with  its  religious  life  and  un- 
derlying beliefs. 

3.  The  Ecclesiastical  System. — Each  Church  has  its  sepa- 
rate organization  and  its  separate  method  of  ecclesiastical 
control.  For  instance,  the  Old  Armenian  Church,  with  its 


19 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


system  of  patriarchs  and  bishops  and  lower  clergy,  is  in  itself 
a most  fascinating  and  interesting  study,  without  which  it 
would  be  impossible  for  any  one  from  the  West  to  under- 
stand the  Church  or  the  phenomena  of  church  life  with  which 
he  will  come  constantly  into  contact,  if  he  lives  among  the 
Armenian  people.  The  same  is  true  of  the  Nestorian,  the 
Greek,  the  Bulgarian  and  the  Coptic  Churches. 

4.  Present  Strength  or  Weakness. — An  estimate  of  the 
causes  of  the  present  strength  or  weakness  of  any  one  of 
these  Churches  would  include  the  actual  relations  existing  be- 
tween belief,  practice  and  teachings  and  the  life  of  the  people 
constituting  the  Church’s  membership.  It  would  include  also 
the  relation  of  the  Church  as  an  ecclesiastical  organization  to 
education,  ancient  and  modern.  It  would  involve  the  study  of 
the  character  of  the  clergy,  from  the  lowest  order  to  the  high- 
est rank,  and  the  amount  and  character  of  the  religious  in- 
struction which  the  membership  of  the  Church  receive  at  the 
hands  of  their  clergy,  and  the  extent  to  which  that  instruction 
is  put  into  practice  in  the  life  of  the  people  as  a whole. 

5.  The  Effect  of  Islam. — The  character,  strength  and 
weakness  of  the  Churches  of  the  Near  East  cannot  be  under- 
stood except  as  taken  in  connection  with  their  relation?  to 
Islam.  Within  a century  after  the  death  of  Mohammed,  Mo- 
hammedanism had  come  into  close  and  vital  contact  with 
them.  For  centuries  they  have  carried  on  their  work  in  close 
relations  with  Mohammedans  of  all  classes  and  every  rank 
under  the  control  of  a Mohammedan  government.  Many  of 
the  practices  of  these  Churches,  if  not  some  of  their  beliefs, 
have  been  modified  by  the  beliefs  and  practices  of  Moham- 
medanism. In  other  words,  Mohammedanism  has  materially 
modified  the  life  of  the  Oriental  Churches.  To  what  extent, 
and  at  what  points  this  has  taken  place,  should  be  understood. 

6.  Relations  to  the  Life  of  the  Nation  to  Which  They  Be- 
long.— These  Churches  have  under  Mohammedan  control 


20 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


been  in  a large  measure  national.  They  have  kept  up  their 
national  organization  and  have  exercised  many  functions 
which  in  other  countries  belong  to  the  State.  Those  that 
have  come  under  the  government  of  Turkey  have  been 
granted  capitulations  giving  them  certain  national  authority 
and  power.  The  Bulgarian  Church  is  now  a State  Church. 
The  Nestorian  Church  in  Persia  has  had  certain  national  re- 
lations to  the  government  which  have  affected  its  Church 
life.  The  same  is  true  of  all  the  Oriental  Churches. 

7.  The  Results  of  the  Century  of  Missionary  Activity. — 
The  effect  upon  these  Churches  of  the  missionary  work  car- 
ried on  among  some  of  them  for  nearly  a century  and  among 
all  for  two  generations  must  be  studied  by  the  new  mission- 
ary. The  form  this  work  has  taken  and  the  response  it  has 
awakened  in  the  Church  as  a whole  is  a theme  of  funda- 
mental importance. 

8.  Their  Relation  to  Modern  Education. — The  relation  of 
these  Oriental  Churches  to  modern  education ; how  far  they 
have  endeavored  to  adopt  and  use  it  for  the  development  of 
their  own  intellectual  life,  how  far  they  have  blocked  it  in 
their  endeavor  to  retain  their  old  traditional  existence,  the 
character  of  the  education  they  have  supported  and  are  sup- 
porting ; the  extent  to  which  they  have  responded  to  modern 
education, — all  are  points  of  vital  interest. 

9.  Prospects  of  Perpetuation. — This  is  a question  to 
which  no  final  answer  can  be  given  but  it  is  worthy  of  sober 
study.  Have  these  Churches  the  elements  of  strength  that 
will  ensure  their  continuation,  or  is  there  a tendency  gradu- 
ally to  approach  one  to  another  as  they  cease  to  maintain  the 
national  relations  that  they  have  hitherto  sustained?  Will 
less  emphasis  be  laid  upon  form  and  more  placed  upon  spirit- 
ual power?  These  are  questions  that  cannot  be  settled  for 
the  present,  but  are  worthy  of  consideration,  surely  of  inves- 
tigation. Upon  the  conclusion  reached  will  depend  the  rela- 


21 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


tions  of  the  missionaries  to  these  Churches  and  the  nature 
and  character  of  their  work.  In  other  words,  will  the  mis- 
sionaries endeavor  to  draw  out  from  these  old  Churches  a 
separate  body  of  evangelicals,  or  should  the  endeavor  be  di- 
rected to  their  reformation  from  within — that  they  may  meet 
the  twentieth  century  requirements  of  their  membership? 
There  is  a strong  conviction  among  many  native  leaders  that 
only  through  an  independent  evangelical  body  can  the  Orien- 
tal Churches  be  led  to  the  true  spiritual  conception  of  the 
Church.  This  is  a line  of  study  for  the  missionary  during  his 
years  of  service  and  while  upon  successive  furloughs. 

III.  The  Requirements  for  Work  Among  the  Jews 

One  contemplating  missionary  work  among  the  Jews  could 
not  expect  to  give  himself  to  any  other  class  or  race.  The 
field  is  almost  an  exclusive  one  requiring  special  preparation 
at  the  outset  and  persistent  application  thereafter,  and  yet  in 
Persia  the  regular  missionaries  to  the  Persians  have  begun 
and  developed  an  important  and  successful  work  among  the 
Jews.  A candidate  preparing  himself  for  successful  work 
among  the  Jews  would  need: 

1.  A Mastery  of  the  Hebrew  Language. — He  would  need 
to  be  able  to  read  the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  Biblical,  Talmudic 
and  modern  alike,  in  their  own  tongue,  and  so  enter  with 
them  into  a fellowship  upon  the  basis  of  their  most  sacred 
possessions.  The  missionary  to  Eastern  Jews  should  be  able 
to  speak  ancient  Hebrew  as  revived  recently  and  used  in  ordi- 
nary life  by  the  Jewish  colonists  in  Palestine.  The  Jews  of 
Turkey  speak  either  Spanish  or  German. 

2.  A Good  Knozvledge  of  their  History. — A missionary  to 
the  Jews  should  be  familiar  with  their  history,  not  only  as  set 
forth  in  the  Old  Testament  but  during  the  subsequent  life  of 
the  race.  This  would  require  special  study  and  investigation 
covering  the  entire  modern  history  of  the  race  as  a whole, 
and  especially  of  that  part  now  occupying  the  Near  East. 


22 


PREPAR*\TION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


3.  A Knowledge  of  their  Religious  Divisions. — Such  a 
missionary  would  need  to  know  the  modern  divisions  among 
the  Jews  and  their  particular  doctrinal  significance.  This 
would  include  their  attitude  toward  Jesus  Christ  and  the 
Christian  Church  as  well  as  their  arguments  against  Chris- 
tianity and  the  Gospels. 

A.  An  Understanding  of  ‘"Zionism.” — He  should  under- 
stand the  modern  movement  of  the  race  back  to  Palestine: 
the  origin  of  the  movement,  its  development,  purpose  and 
present  state,  its  leaders  and  the  probable  outcome  of  its 
policy. 

5.  A Review  of  the  History  of  the  Attempts  to  Christian- 
ise Jews. — He  must  familiarize  himself  with  the  different 
attempts  during  the  last  century  to  Christianize  the  Jews  of 
the  Near  East,  noting  the  successes  and  failures  of  these  at- 
tempts and  the  reasons  therefor. 

6.  A Sympathetic  Attitude. — He  must  possess  a real  af- 
fection for  that  ancient  people  and  a burning  desire  to  lead 
them  to  a true  knowledge  of  the  Christ.  This  necessarily 
means  that  he  has  studied  their  characteristics,  appreciates 
their  worth  and  understands  their  weaknesses. 

C.  The  Special  Qualifications  Required  for  Mission 
Service  to  the  Near  East 

As  the  countries  covered  in  this  investigation  differ  so 
widely  from  all  other  missionary  fields  in  their  racial,  lin- 
guistic and  religious  characteristics,  it  is  necessary  that  spe- 
cial consideration  be  given  to  requirements  needed  for  mis- 
sionary work  in  this  field  which  might  not  be  needed  in  other 
countries.  We  will  consider  these  qualifications  under  the 
head  of  the  different  kinds  of  missionaries  needed  for  these 
countries. 

I.  The  Ordained  Missionary 

In  the  Third  Report  of  the  Board  of  Missionary  Prepara- 
tion, page  10,  the  subject  of  the  Present  Place  and  Need  of 


23 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


Ordained  Missionaries  is  given  careful  and  thorough  con- 
sideration. The  emphasis  there  laid  upon  the  place  of  the 
ordained  missionary  in  the  general  missionary  work  of  the 
world  should  be  especially  emphasized  with  reference  to  the 
needs  of  the  ordained  missionary  in  the  Near  East.  It  is  a 
region  of  religion  and  religions.  Every  individual  has  a re- 
ligion in  which  he  professes  to  believe.  The  place  of  the 
professional  religious  leader  has  long  been  recognized  here. 
The  Mohammedans  have  their  religious  teachers  to  whom 
great  respect  is  shown,  and  the  Oriental  Churches  have  their 
ecclesiastics  of  all  grades  whose  leadership  is  conceded.  The 
same  is  true  of  the  Jews.  It  is  important,  therefore,  that 
among  the  missionaries  there  should  be  an  unusual  propor- 
tion of  recognized  religious  men  who  have  received  all  of  the 
instruction  and  training  given  men  of  their  class  in  the  mis- 
sionary-sending countries,  men  who  go  to  the  field  with  all 
of  the  religious  authority  which  can  be  given  them  by  the 
Churches  they  represent. 

In  what  follows  the  word  “should”  is  constantly  used,  not 
in  a dogmatic  sense,  but  only  to  express  the  high  desirability 
of  the  qualification  or  attainment  mentioned. 

1.  A Real  Mastery  of  the  Bible. — An  unusual  knowledge 
of  the  Bible  and  the  essential  teachings  of  Christianity,  while 
of  great  importance  to  all  missionaries,  is  of  supreme  im- 
portance to  one  contemplating  work  in  the  Near  East.  Large 
numbers  of  the  members  of  the  Oriental  Churches  have  a 
widely  extended  knowledge  of  the  Bible.  This  has  been 
mostly  obtained  during  nearly  a century  of  modern  missions 
and  as  the  result  of  prolonged  controversies  over  the  Bible 
in  the  earlier  period  of  missionary  work.  The  missionary 
who  under  any  circumstances  should  reveal  a lack  of  knowl- 
edge of  the  Bible  itself  among  Oriental  Christians  would 
thereby  immediately  lose  standing.  At  the  same  time,  he 
should  know  what  are  the  essential  teachings  of  the  Bible, 
since  he  is  to  deal  with  Churches  that  have  put  emphasis  on 


24 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


non-essentials,  and  with  Mohammedans  who,  by  their  tradi- 
tions, have  exalted  the  non-essential  in  Christianity  into 
prominent  place  and  have  lost  sight  of  that  which  is  funda- 
mental. He  should  also  have  in  a special  degree  the  power 
to  impart  his  knowledge  to  others  as  preacher,  evangelizer 
and  teacher.  Mere  knowledge  of  the  Bible,  without  ability  or 
passion  to  impress  its  truths  upon  others,  would  be  of  little 
value  to  the  people  or  the  country. 

2.  A Great  Capacity  for  Friendship. — The  ordained  mis- 
sionary should  have  an  unlimited  capacity  for  friendship. 
He  should  not  allow  differences  of  belief  or  of  custom  or  of 
temperament  to  present  any  barrier  to  his  personal  friendly 
relations  with  the  people,  and  especially  with  the  religious 
leaders.  He  must  have  not  only  a capacity  for  friendship, 
but  he  must  have  a passion  for  it.  Probably  this  is  one  of 
the  most  powerful  means  by  which  the  ordained  missionary 
can  get  into  close  relations  with  the  Moslem.  He  must  show 
himself  a friend  and  prove  himself  to  be  a friend,  before  he 
can  be  in  a position  to  discuss  the  deep  things  of  religion 
with  the  alert  Mohammedans  and  especially  with  their  lead- 
ers. While  this  capacity  is  of  great  value  to  every  mis- 
sionary throughout  the  world,  it  is  a supreme  necessity  for 
one  who  is  seeking  to  reach  Moslem  peoples. 

3.  A Thorough  Grounding  in  Theology. — The  ordained 
missionary  who  is  to  work  among  the  Oriental  Churches 
should  thoroughly  understand  the  fundamentals  of  the 
Christian  faith,  and  especially  its  more  conservative  doc- 
trines. The  Oriental  Churches  are  conservative  by  tradition 
— on  the  divinity  of  Christ,  the  inspiration  of  the  Bible,  the 
Trinity,  the  future  life,  etc.  Any  candidate  who  conceives 
it  to  be  his  mission  to  attack  the  foundations  of  these  ancient 
institutions,  because  the  leaders  in  the  churches  are  bound  by 
tradition,  should  pause  before  entering  upon  work  in  the 
Near  East.  The  ordained  missionary  should  not  hold  such 
theological  views  that  he  will  not  be  able  to  work  in  harmony 

25 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


with  the  native  leaders  who,  viewed  from  our  Western  stand- 
point, are  extremely  conservative.  A constructive  Gospel 
and  theology  is  required  for  all  classes. 

The  Mohammedans  also  are  conservative  in  temperament 
and  practice.  They  believe  in  a book  which  they  eagerly 
defend,  and  expect  Christian  leaders  in  a like  manner  to*  stand 
by  their  book.  They  are  profound  believers  in  the  divine  in- 
spiration of  the  Scriptures,  the  future  life,  in  sin  and  its  dis- 
astrous consequences  and  in  the  prophetic  mission  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

4.  A Passion  for  Evangelism. — The  ordained  missionary 
must  have  a passion  for  leading  the  Moslems  to  Christ.  No 
one  could  expect  to  succeed  who  goes  to  the  Mohammedan 
with  a gospel  that  he  believes  will  merely  improve  his  ex- 
ternal surroundings,  exalt  his  intellectual  life,  and  make  the 
community  more  civilized.  The  good  Mohammedan  believes 
in  his  religion,  and  he  respects  and  honors  the  Christian  who 
manifests  at  the  outset  a passion  for  the  Christ  and  a burning 
desire  to  reveal  Him  in  His  beauty  to  everybody  else,  in  order 
that  all  may  see  Him  exalted  and  be  led  to  exclaim,  “My 
Lord  and  my  God.”  A general  desire  to  do  good  and  to  help 
the  people  will  not  be  enough  to  sustain  one  in  a life  work 
among  the  Mohammedans.  Nothing  short  of  a “Woe  is  me 
if  I preach  not  the  Gospel”  will  meet  the  requirements  of  the 
Mohammedan  world.  He  should  also  possess  the  ability  to 
lead  others  into  the  field  of  evangelism  and  to  instruct  them 
in  the  best  methods  of  irenic  controversy  and  persuasive 
presentation  of  Christian  truth. 

5.  Ability  in  Patient,  Dignified  Controversialism. — The 
ordained  missionary  should  be  a good  controversialist  in  the 
best  sense  of  the  term,  in  private  conversation  as  well  as  in 
public  address.  This  presupposes  not  only  a thorough 
knowledge  of  his  subject,  but  also  the  ability  to  carry  on  a 
prolonged  discussion  without  loss  of  patience,  much  less  of 
temper.  For  an  ordained  missionary  to  lose  his  temper  in 


26 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


the  presence  of  Orientals  is  for  him  to  commit  a grievous  sin 
and  to  prove  himself  a man  of  weakness.  Infinite  patience, 
unceasingly  persisted  in,  backed  by  the  real  and  true  spirit 
of  the  Christ,  the  friend  and  brother  of  all  men,  will  inevi- 
tably win  its  way  among  Moslems.  The  missionary  needs 
also  to  appear  to  have  ample  leisure.  One  who  is  constitu- 
tionally in  a hurry  cannot  hope  to  come  near  to  the  inner  life 
of  a Mohammedan. 

6.  A W ell-grounded  Knowledge  of  Islam  and  the  Oriental 
Churches. — We  would  mention  as  one  of  the  most  important 
lines  of  preparation  required  of  the  ordained  missionary  in 
the  Near  East,  a knowledge  of  the  subjects  already  referred 
to  under  the  head  of  Preparation  for  Work  among  Moham- 
medans and  the  Oriental  Churches.  A large  field  of  inves- 
tigation and  study  is  there  opened  up,  not  demanded  for  or- 
dained missionaries  to  other  countries,  but  essential  to  those 
who  desire  to  win  a strong  hold  and  to  maintain  a command- 
ing position  among  these  different  classes  of  people  in  the 
Near  East.  The  following  are  named  as  topics  or  subjects 
requiring  the  special  consideration  of  those  who  contemplate 
work  in  the  Near  East  as  ordained  missionaries. 

7.  An  Acquaintance  with  the  Philosophy  of  Islam. — The 
ordained  missionary  who  contemplates  work  for  Moslems 
should  have  some  knowledge  of  the  philosophy  of  the  East, 
and  especially  the  philosophy  of  Islam.  This  should  be 
equally  true  of  one  going  to  India,  and  perhaps  the  Farther 
East,  but  it  is  of  great  importance  for  one  who  is  to  work 
among  Mohammedans.  Many  Moslem  leaders  have  been 
and  are  masters  of  their  own  philosophy. 

8.  The  Ability  to  Shape  the  Changing  Social  Life. — The 
ordained  missionary  should  have  some  knowledge  and  ex- 
perience in  sociology  and  its  application  to  life.  The  Near 
East  at  the  present  time  hardly  calls  for  experts  in  sociology 
to  the  exclusion  of  other  lines,  but  missionary  work  among 

27 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


both  Christians  and  Mohammedans  calls  for  social  empha- 
sis at  every  point.  The  message  that  appeals  to  the  people  of 
the  Near  East  is  the  message  of  the  changed  life  brought 
about  by  Jesus  Christ.  The  ordained  missionary,  therefore, 
should  understand  the  sociological  aspect  of  his  own  religion 
and  the  application  of  the  same  to  the  life  of  others. 

9.  The  Habit  of  Accuracy. — The  ordained  missionary 
should  have  the  habit  of  accuracy  in  all  things,  especially  in 
his  pronunciation  of  the  vernacular  and  in  quotation  from 
the  Koran.  This  has  already  been  referred  to  under  the 
head  of  special  preparation  for  work  among  Moslems,  but 
it  needs  to  be  re-emphasized.  The  missionary  of  slovenly 
habits  of  speech  and  of  quotation  should  not  undertake  work 
among  Moslems  or  other  Orientals.  His  influence  would  be 
greatly  impaired  at  the  outset  by  his  mispronunciation  of  the 
language  which  he  uses  in  dealing  with  the  Moslems,  and 
practically  destroyed  by  misquotation  from  their  sacred 
books  or  their  traditional  sayings. 

10.  Organizing  Capacity. — The  ordained  missionary 
should  have  organizing  capacity.  He  is  not  simply  a preacher 
but  an  organizer,  and  he  should  be  so  able  to  organize  and  use 
the  forces  that  become  accessible  to  him,  both  in  the  church 
and  in  the  Moslem  communities,  as  to  produce  the  largest  and 
most  far-reaching  results. 

11.  Literary  Ability. — The  ordained  missionary  should 
have  literary  ability.  The  more  pleasingly  and  forcefully  he 
is  able  to  use  the  vernacular  language  in  dealing  with  the 
Moslems — and  this  is  especially  true  if  the  language  he  uses 
is  Arabic — the  more  powerfully  will  he  grip  his  hearers. 
He  must,  moreover,  be  prepared  to  write,  probably  more  in 
the  future  than  in  the  past,  for  Mohammedan  readers;  and 
in  order  to  do  this  he  must  have  a literary  instinct  and  abil- 
ity to  command  attention  with  his  pen. 

12.  An  Acquaintance  with  Arabic. — If  the  ordained  mis- 
sionary is  planning  to  go  into  North  Africa,  Egypt,  Arabia, 


28 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


and  many  parts  of  the  Turkish  Empire  for  work  among  Mo- 
hammedans, a foundation  in  the  Arabic  language  is  a sine 
qua  non.  Even  if  he  is  to  use  the  Turkish  language  (that 
spoken  by  the  Turks  throughout  Asia  Minor)  a foundation 
in  Arabic  is  of  great  importance,  in  order  to  enable  him  to 
speak  a high  and  educated  Turkish,  which  would  cause  him 
to  be  respected  even  by  the  more  ignorant  Turks. 

13.  A Knowledge  of  Political  Conditions. — All  mission- 
aries should  be  generally  informed  regarding  the  develop- 
ment of  the  existing  political  and  governmental  organiza- 
tions, their  relations  to  foreign  countries  and  the  history  of 
governmental  and  diplomatic  intercourse. 

14.  A Wife  and  Home. — The  ordained  missionary 
should  be  married  and  establish  his  home  in  the  country. 
While  a single  man  may  do  some  lines  of  educational  and 
medical  work,  and  can  do  effective  work  in  touring,  he  can- 
not do  the  necessary  work  of  an  ordained  missionary  living 
among  and  working  for  either  Moslems  or  Christians. 

II.  Women  Evangelists 

The  woman  evangelist  is  probably  needed  in  the  Near  East 
almost  if  not  quite  as  much  as  the  ordained  missionary.  The 
homes  are  open;  calls  are  incessant;  the  opportunities  unlim- 
ited. The  woman  evangelist  requires  a special  preparation, 
much  of  which  has  already  been  included  under  the  head  of 
the  ordained  missionary.  The  report  of  the  Committee  on 
Preparation  of  Women  for  Foreign  Missionary  Service,  be- 
ginning on  page  106  of  the  Third  Report  of  the  Board  of 
Missionary  Preparation,  should  be  read  in  connection  with 
this  report.  Most  of  the  details  under  the  preceding  section 
apply  as  directly  to  the  woman  evangelist  as  to  the  ordained 
missionary.  There  is  no  need  therefore  of  further  enlarge- 
ment here. 

III.  Educational  Missionaries 

Again  we  refer  to  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  the  Prep- 
aration of  Educational  Missionaries,  beginning  on  page  50  of 


29 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


the  Third  Report  of  the  Board  of  Missionary  Preparation. 
To  the  general  requirements  there  set  forth  we  would  add  the 
details  already  referred  to  under  C.  I.  (see  pp.  23-29),  if  the 
candidate  is  looking  forward  to  permanent  service.  While 
the  educational  missionary  need  not  necessarily  be  ordained, 
nor  have  had  a full  theological  course,  if  he  is  to  give  his 
whole  time  to  teaching,  there  is  a general  consensus  of  opinion 
that  one  taking  up  educational  work  in  the  Near  E^st  should 
have  the  following  special  preparation : 

1.  Biblical  Training. — He  should  have  at  least  two  years 
of  special  Biblical  training,  in  order  that  he  may  be  thor- 
oughly familiar  with  the  history  and  the  fundamental  ideas 
of  Christianity. 

2.  Experience  in  the  Organisation  and  Direction  of  Edu- 
cational Work. — He  should  have  some  experience  in  the  or- 
ganization and  direction  of  educational  work,  or  at  least  in 
the  study  of  such  lines  of  work.  We  are  speaking  now  of 
the  general  educational  missionary,  not  of  the  specialist  who 
goes  out  for  some  particular  department.  The  East  is  call- 
ing for  general  educators  who  will  be  able  to  organize  and 
direct  systems  of  education.  This  is  true  in  the  work  for 
men  as  well  as  the  work  for  women.  He  should  also  under- 
stand the  possibilities  of  the  Christian  school  as  a social  force 
in  the  community.  This  is  one  of  the  most  hopeful  recent 
developments  of  the  school  in  America  and  needs  to  be  care- 
fully studied  by  all  prospective  missionaries. 

3.  Mastery  of  the  Science  of  Education. — He  should  be 
well  versed  in  the  science  of  education.  The  whole  East 
is  calling  for  teachers,  and  the  call  is  increasing  rapidly  from 
year  to  year.  These  teachers  are  demanded  for  Moham- 
medan as  well  as  Christian  schools,  and  the  call  is  directed  to 
the  Christian  missionary  institutions  as  the  only  source  they 
know  where  they  are  likely  to  find  what  is  required.  The 
normal  college  is  rapidly  coming  to  the  front  and  is  of  almost 
equal  importance  with  the  theological  college. 


30 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


4.  Special  Training. — Expert  preparation  is  required  for 
special  positions.  The  existing  colleges  in  Turkey  are  con- 
stantly calling  for  experts  for  important  positions  on  their 
staff  of  instruction.  This  covers  the  whole  range  of  spe- 
cialties that  are  found  in  most  of  our  American  institutions. 
These  need  not  be  mentioned  in  detail,  but  perhaps  it  is  well 
to  refer  to  the  kindergarten  teacher,  now  more  and  more  in 
demand,  as  one  of  the  present  peculiar  needs. 

5.  A Passion  for  Evangelism. — The  educational  mission- 
ary should  have  the  same  passion  and  desire  to  lead  his  pupils 
to  an  adequate  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ  as  the  ordained 
missionary.  He  has  opportunities  which  the  ordained  mis- 
sionary does  not  have.  He  reaches  his  hearers  at  the  most 
susceptible  period  in  their  lives.  If  his  studies  can  be  so  ar- 
ranged that  he  can  visit  the  fields  from  which  his  pupils  come, 
he  will  have  unlimited  opportunity  for  speaking  on  relig- 
ious and  educational  subjects  and  of  being  a real  preacher 
of  righteousness.  One  going  into  the  East  should  go  with  a 
passion  to  reach  all  classes  with  the  simple,  saving  Gospel  of 
Christ. 

6.  The  Ability  to  Train  Leaders. — Perhaps  more  in  the 
East  than  other  mission  countries,  the  educational  mission- 
ary should  not  for  a moment  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  he  is 
training  the  men  and  women  who  are  to  go  out  as  the  leaders 
of  their  own  people,  that  he  is  the  teacher  of  teachers,  the 
leader  of  leaders,  and  that  in  this  way  he  multiplies  himself 
and  his  teaching  a thousandfold.  The  Near  East  will  be  led 
to  Christ  by  the  people  of  the  Near  East.  While  this  is  not 
true  only  of  the  Near  East,  it  is  preeminently  true  of  this 
part  of  the  missionary  world. 

The  work  of  the  permanent  and  general  educational 
missionary  is  so  nearly  akin  to  that  of  the  evangelistic  or 
ordained  missionary,  that,  in  order  to  achieve  the  widest  in- 
fluence and  highest  success  he  should  prepare  himself  in 


31 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


nearly  all  that  is  mentioned  under  B.  I,  and  II  or  III  as  well 
as  under  C.  I. 

IV.  Medical  Missionaries 

The  medical  missionary  for  the  Near  East  requires  prac- 
tically the  same  preparation  that  is  required  in  other  mission 
fields.  There  is  only  one  judgment  expressed  and  that  is, 
that  the  medical  missionary  should  have  a full  four  years’ 
course,  with  a four  years’  medical  course,  to  be  followed  by 
two  years’  hospital  experience,  with  unusual  emphasis  upon 
surgery  and  the  eye.  The  report  of  the  Committee  on  Quali- 
fications and  Preparation  of  Medical  Missionaries,  begin- 
ning on  page  86  of  the  Third  Report  of  the  Board  of  Mis- 
sionary Preparation,  summarizes  the  matters  chiefly  de- 
manding the  attention  of  the  medical  missionary  who  would 
prepare  for  the  Near  East.  There  are,  however,  details  al- 
ready treated  under  the  head  of  preparation  for  ordained 
missionaries  that  demand  some  attention  at  least  from  the 
medical  missionary.  These  are  the  requirements  mentioned 
for  work  among  Moslems  (pages  11  to  17),  especially  the 
mastery  of  the  language;  also  some  of  the  requirements  for 
work  among  Christians  (pages  17  to  22),  or,  if  he  is  to  work 
among  the  Jews,  the  requirements  for  work  among  that  peo- 
ple (pp.  22-23).  He  should  also  aim  to  secure  many  of  the 
special  qualifications  required  in  an  ordained  missionary  in 
the  Near  East: 

A grounding  in  theology. 

A mastery  of  the  Bible. 

A passion  for  evangelism. 

A capacity  for  friendship. 

Ability  for  dignified  controversy. 

Some  knowledge  of  Islam  and  the  Oriental  Churches. 

An  acquaintance  with  Arabic,  if  he  is  to  work  in  Africa. 

Practically  every  other  qualification  mentioned. 

There  is  little  call  for  the  study  of  tropical  medicine  on  the 
part  of  the  medical  missionary  in  the  Near  East,  except  for 
those  who  are  going  to  Arabia,  Syria  and  North  Africa; 


32 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


there  tropical  medicine  will  be  essential.  There  is  a general 
consensus  of  opinion,  that  the  medical  missionary  must  get 
his  principal  hospital  practice  in  the  home-land  before  going 
out;  the  hospitals  in  the  field  cannot  be  depended  upon  to 
furnish  an  adequate  training.  Under  present  conditions  the 
medical  missionary  in  Turkey  is  compelled  to  take  his  ex- 
amination for  license  at  Constantinople  in  the  French  lan- 
guage. A knowledge  of  French  therefore  will  be  of  special 
value  to  the  medical  missionary  going  to  Turkey. 

V.  Industrial  Missionaries 

There  is  considerable  and  increasing  demand  in  the  Near 
East  for  industrial  missionaries.  Although  in  not  a few 
cases  up  to  the  present  time  some  missionaries  have  given 
considerable  attention  to  this  phase  of  the  work,  industrial 
training  has  been  taken  on  as  something  additional,  usually 
by  ordained  or  educational  missionaries.  There  is,  how- 
ever, an  increasing  demand  for  industrial  missionaries  along 
some  of  the  following  lines : 

1.  Agricultural  Superintendents. — The  agricultural  con- 
dition of  the  Near  East  is  backward  in  the  extreme.  Un- 
doubtedly, in  the  future,  agricultural  schools  and  experiment 
farms  will  need  to  be  started  in  order  to  develop  the  latent 
resources  of  each  country.  There  is  already  a call  for  ex- 
perts in  agricultural  training  and  for  some  kind  of  agricul- 
tural schools  in  which  modern  and  western  methods  can  be 
practically  taught  and  introduced  into  the  country.  Some 
of  the  existing  educational  institutions  are  contemplating 
adding  agricultural  departments.  These  will  require  experts 
in  charge. 

2.  Experts  in  Work  for  Women. — Lace-  and  embroidery- 
making has  already  been  taken  up  extensively  as  a means  of 
providing  the  poor  women  of  the  country  with  an  opportunity 
for  honorable  self-support.  Under  the  leadership  of  mis- 
sionaries who  have  had  no  particular  training  in  this  line  be- 
fore going  out,  great  good  has  already  been  accomplished 


33 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


through  this  work.  The  call  for  this  line  of  work  will  prob- 
ably be  more  in  the  future  than  in  the  past.  It  would  be 
well,  therefore,  for  a few  women  candidates  for  missionary 
appointment  to  these  countries  to  look  into  the  subject  of 
lace-making  and  embroidery,  even  if  they  do  not  themselves 
become  experts. 

3.  Teachers  of  Carpentry,  Cabinet  Work  and  Trades. — 
This  form  of  industrial  training  has  already  grown  up  in 
connection  with  many  of  the  educational  institutions,  and  will 
probably  be  more  developed  in  the  future.  For  one  who  is 
inclined  to  industrial  work  and  has  capacity  for  it,  it  might 
be  well  to  spend  some  time  in  additional  preparation  along 
that  line,  for  undoubtedly  within  the  lifetime  of  any  educa- 
tional missionary  going  out  at  the  present  time  there  will  be 
a call  for  the  direction  of  industries,  not  only  along  the  line  of 
carpentry  and  cabinet  work,  but  along  a great  many  other 
lines,  like  printing,  iron  work,  tailoring,  shoemaking,  etc. 

VI.  Social  Workers 

There  seems  to  be  a general  opinion  that  there  is  no  call 
at  the  present  time  for  missionaries  to  go  out  simply  for  so- 
cial work,  but  methods  of  social  approach  are  developing  in 
the  form  of  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association  and  Young 
Women’s  Christian  Association  methods,  the  organization 
and  development  of  clubs  for  men  and  clubs  for  women,  ex- 
tension lectures  by  which  remote  communities  are  reached 
from  educational  centres,  and  many  other  varieties  of  ap- 
proach to  the  people  in  which  the  evangelistic,  educational 
and  medical  missionaries  must  necessarily  take  the  lead.  But 
this  has  already  been  referred  to  under  the  head  of  Prepara- 
tion for  Evangelistic  Missionaries. 

D.  General  Qualifications  of  Missionaries  to 
THE  Near  East 

I.  Physical  Characteristics 

With  reference  to  the  physical  equipment  of  missionaries 
for  the  Near  East,  several  details  may  be  mentioned  which 


34 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


are  of  importance,  revealing  a need  in  this  part  of  the  mis- 
sionary world  which  may  not,  however,  be  wholly  unlike  the 
need  of  other  parts. 

1.  Sound  and  Steady  Nerves. — There  are  countries  where 
people  nervously  inclined  can  go  with  a fair  degree  of  safety, 
but  hardly  to  the  Near  East.  Most  of  Persia  and  the  eastern 
section  of  Turkey  have  a high  elevation  reaching  from  four 
to  seven  thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  This  elevation  has  a 
deleterious  effect  upon  some  sensitive  nervous  organisms. 
The  entire  country  is  far  from  quiet  politically.  The  con- 
flicts that  take  place  between  the  different  nationalities  all 
tend  to  upset  people  of  delicate  nervous  organism.  The 
climate  of  North  Africa  and  Arabia  would  probably  have 
something  of  the  same  effect  as  the  high  altitudes  of  the 
Northeast.  The  general  conclusion,  therefore,  is  that  mis- 
sionaries should  have  a sound  and  not  very  sensitive  nervous 
system. 

2.  Good  Digestion. — They  should  have  good  stomachs, 
capable  of  digesting  a great  variety  of  food.  While  the 
foods  eaten  by  the  native  populations  of  the  Near  East  are 
probably  as  wholesome  and  nourishing  as  the  foods  eaten  by 
any  Asiatic  people,  yet  because  of  the  large  quantity  of  fat 
used  throughout  the  northern  section  of  the  country,  and  for 
other  reasons,  the  digestive  system  is  often  put  to  severe 
tests.  There  is  little  opportunity  also,  because  of  the  remote- 
ness of  the  interior  from  the  markets  of  the  world,  to  secure 
Western  foods.  Missionaries  are  very  dependent  upon  the 
native  products.  While  a good  stomach  is  an  excellent  asset 
anywhere,  it  is  of  peculiar  importance  in  these  countries.  A 
missionary’s  teeth  should  be  put  into  good  order  before  he 
leaves  his  home-land, 

3.  Ability  to  Sleep. — Some  of  the  correspondents  have  put 
emphasis  upon  the  necessity  of  the  missionary  being  a good 
sleeper.  This  might  be,  and  probably  is,  a part  of  1 above. 
The  sleeping  facilities  for  the  traveler  in  the  country  districts 


35 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


are  generally  primitive,  and  often  extremely  trying.  The 
Turkish  and  Persian  inns  are  known  to  tradition.  The  evan- 
gelistic missionaries,  and  often  the  educational  and  the  medi- 
cal missionaries,  travel  more  or  less  over  the  country,  and 
are  compelled  to  put  up  with  these  accommodations,  and  if 
one  cannot  sleep  under  circumstances  that  would  keep  some 
people  awake,  he  cannot  continue  that  line  of  work. 

4.  Ability  to  Ride. — He  should  be  physically  able  to  endure 
and  enjoy  horseback  riding.  The  common  means  of  commu- 
nication in  the  interior  over  parts  of  the  countries  named 
is  still  by  horseback.  Many  missionaries  are  compelled  to 
take  frequent  long  horseback  journeys.  Some  missionaries 
almost  live  in  the  saddle.  Candidates  contemplating  work  in 
these  countries  should  test  themselves  to  know  whether  or 
not  they  are  able  to  make  long  and  frequent  journeys  on 
horseback,  comfortably  and  safely.  To  those  who  enjoy 
horseback  riding,  it  is  a source  of  great  recreation  and  satis- 
faction ; to  others  it  can  be  a burden  beyond  endurance. 

II.  Linguistic  Abilities 

The  linguistic  requirements  for  missionary  work  in  the 
Near  East  are  large  and  exacting.  North  of  Syria  most  of 
the  people  are  bilingual  and  some  peasants  speak  three  lan- 
guages. Not  a few  missionaries  acquire  two  of  the  vernacu- 
lars, especially  where  they  contemplate  work  for  Christians 
and  for  Moslems.  Some  of  these  languages,  like  the  Bulga- 
rian, Serbian,  Albanian,  Greek,  Armenian  and  Kurdish,  are 
not  especially  difficult;  the  Turkish,  Persian  and  Arabic  are 
harder  to  master.  One  should  have  good  linguistic  ability 
for  a life  work  in  these  countries,  and  in  preparation  should 
give  close  attention  to  phonetics  and  especially  to  that  of  the 
Arabic  language  under  a properly  qualified  teacher.  Ancient 
Greek  is  of  great  aid  to  one  in  the  mastery  of  Modern  Greek 
and  Armenian,  and  Arabic  is  an  excellent  foundation  for 
Turkish  and  Persian.  There  is  a general  agreement  that, 
apart  from  phonetics  and  the  structure  of  the  Arabic  lan- 

36 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


guage,  all  vernaculars  should  be  studied  in  the  main  upon  the 
field  and  not  undertaken  in  the  home-land,  except  in  cases 
where  superior  teachers  can  be  secured  here. 

Conclusion 

It  must  be  well  understood  that  no  one  candidate  can  right- 
ly expect  to  make  himself  master  during  the  years  of  his 
preparation  of  all  of  the  different  subjects  here  suggested. 
At  the  same  time  there  is  a real  value  in  holding  up  a strong 
standard  of  equipment  for  service  towards  the  realization  of 
which  the  endeavors  of  an  active  life  may  be  directed.  Many 
missionaries  have  not  achieved  that  influence  and  strength 
in  the  work  of  which  they  were  fully  capable,  because  they 
have  failed  to  continue  their  studies  in  wise,  persistent  fash- 
ion after  entering  upon  their  life  in  the  field  and  during  fur- 
lough periods  at  home.  Aimless  study  and  misguided  efforts 
account  for  not  a few  missionary  failures,  where  planning 
and  persistence  would  have  assured  conspicuous  success. 
The  first  furlough  should  be  of  special  significance  in  the  line 
of  added  preparation.  During  the  first  term  of  service  the 
missionary  has  learned  some  of  his  own  deficiencies  as  well 
as  the  peculiar  needs  of  his  special  field  and  work.  He  is 
well  prepared  to  take  up  lines  of  study  and  investigation  that 
will  materially  increase  his  effectiveness  during  his  second 
term. 

A Student  Volunteer  contemplating  work  in  the  Near 
East,  by  careful  planning  of  his  theological  or  professional 
course,  and  with  industry  and  persistence,  may  easily  achieve 
an  admirable  beginning  along  the  lines  of  special  preparation 
set  forth  in  this  Report.  If  he  is  to  give  himself  wholly  to 
work  for  Moslems,  it  is  the  general  opinion  of  competent  ad- 
visers that  an  extra  year  of  special  preparation  in  some  of 
the  subjects  referred  to  may  well  be  taken  in  some  school  or 
schools  at  home  where  they  are  satisfactorily  taught. 

The  conclusion  of  the  matter  is  that  the  Near  East  is  in- 


37 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


creasingly  demanding  expert  Christian  leaders,  especially 
trained  for  the  task  they  are  set  to  perform,  with  capacity 
effectively  to  execute  the  task.  We  make  this  statement  with 
full  recognition  that  the  source  of  all  power  is  in  God  and  that 
in  His  Spirit  alone  will  permanent  success  be  achieved. 

E.  Bibliography 

The  attention  of  every  student  is  called  to  the  bibliography 
published  in  the  Third  Report  of  the  Board  of  Missionary 
Preparation,  beginning  on  page  183,  where  many  of  these 
books  are  given  a brief  characterization.  The  following 
books  are  suggested  as  of  special  value  upon  different  sub- 
jects connected  with  this  report.  The  books  of  general  value 
are  mentioned  first. 

1.  Margoliouth,  D.  S.  Mohammed  and  the^Rise  of  Islam.  Putnam. 

2.  Muir,  Sir  Wm.  Life  of  Mohammed.  .^Edin.,  Grant. 

3.  Muir,  Sir  Wm.  The  Caliphate.  Lond.,  Smith. 

4.  Sale,  G.  Preliminary  Discourse  on  the  Koran.  Lond.,  Tegg. 

5.  Rodwell,  J.  M.  Koran.  Williams. 

6.  Wellhausen,  J.  Article  on  Mohammed  in  9th  Edition  Encyclo- 
pedia Britannica. 

7.  Sell,  E.  Essays  on  Islam.  Simpkin. 

8.  Zwemer,  S.  M.  Arabia : the  Cradle  of  Islam.  Revell. 

9.  Zwemer,  S.  M.  Islam,  a Challenge  to  Faith.  New  York  S. 
V.  M. 

10.  Zwemer,  S.  M.  Our  Moslem  Sisters.  Revell. 

11.  Gairdner,  W.  H.  T.  Reproach  of  Islam.  Young  People’s  Mis- 
sionary Movement. 

12.  Rice,  W.  A.  Crusaders  of  the  Twentieth  Century.  C.  M.  S. 

13.  Tisdall,  W.  St.  C.  T.  Mohammedan  Objections  to  Christianity. 
S.  P.  C.  K. 

14.  Burton,  R.  F.  A Pilgrimage  to  Mecca  and  Medina.  Putnam. 

15.  Arnold,  T.  W.  The  Preaching  of  Islam.  Scribner’s. 

16.  Macdonald,  D.  B.  Aspects  of  Islam.  Macmillan. 

17.  Macdonald,  D.  B.  Religious  Life  and  Attitude  in  Islam.  Uni- 
versity of  Chicago  Press. 

18.  Macdonald,  D.  B.  Muslim  Theology.  Scribner’s. 

19.  Smith,  R.  B.  Mohammed  and  Mohammedanism.  Lond., 
Smith. 


38 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  NEAR  EAST 


20.  Lucknow  Conference  Report.  English  edition  “Lucknow, 
1911.”  Christian  Literature  Society  for  India.  American  edi- 
tion “Islam  and  Missions.”  Revell. 

21.  Zwemer,  S.  M.  Life  of  Raymond  Lull.  Funk. 

22.  Speer,  R.  E.  Christianity  and  the  Nations.  Revell. 

23.  Becker,  C.  H.  Christianity  and  Islam.  Harper’s. 

24.  Herrick,' G.  F.  Christian  and  Mohammedan.  Revell. 

25.  Pears,  Sir  Edwin.  Turkey  and  Its  People.  Lond.,  Methuen  & 
Co. 

26.  Eliot,  Sir  C.  N.  E.  Turkey  in  Europe.  Lond.,  Arnold. 

27.  Ramsay,  W.  M.  Impressions  of  Turkey.  Hodder  & Stoughton. 

28.  Shedd,  W.  A.  Islam  and  the  Oriental  Churches.  Presby.  Bd. 

29.  Richter,  J.  History  of  Missions  in  the  Near  East.  Revell. 

30.  Barton,  J.  L.  Daybreak  in  Turkey.  The  Pilgrim  Press. 

31.  Dwight,  H.  O.  Constantinople.  Revell. 

32.  Dwight,  H.  O.  A Muslim  Sir  Galahad.  Revell. 

33.  De  Bunsen,  V.  The  Soul  of  a Turk.  Lond.,  Lane. 

34.  Garnett,  L.  M.  J.  Turkish  Life  in  Town  and  Country.  Lond., 
Newnes. 

35.  Gibb,  E.  J.  W.  History  of  Ottoman  Poetry,  Vol.  I.  Luzac. 

36.  Speer,  R.  E.  The  Foreign  Doctor.  Revell. 

37.  Wilson,  S.  G.  Persian  Life  and  Customs.  Revell. 

38.  Wishard,  J.  G.  Twenty  Years  in  Persia.  Revell. 

39.  Tisdall,  W.  St.  C.  T.  Conversion  of  Armenia  to  Christianity. 
Lond.,  R.  T.  S. 

40.  Malcolm,  N.  Five  Years  in  a Persian  Town.  Dutton. 

41.  Jessup,  H.  H.  Fifty-three  Years  in  Syria.  Revell. 

42.  Bliss,  F.  J.  Religions  of  Syria  and  Palestine.  Scribner’s. 

43.  Jessup,  H.  H.  Women  of  the  Arabs.  Dodd  & Mead. 

44.  Lane,  E.  W.  Modem  Egyptians.  Ward,  Lock  & Co. 

45.  Cromer,  E.  B.  Modem  Egypt.  Macmillan. 

46.  Cairo  Conference  Report.  American  edition,  “The  Mohamme- 
dan World  of  To-day.”  Revell. 

47.  Watson,  C.  R.  In  the  Valley  of  the  Nile.  Revell. 

48.  The  Mohammedan  Encyclopedia  being  published  at  Leyden  in 
English,  French,  and  German  editions. 

49.  Jewish  Encyclopedia.  Funk  & Wagnall’s. 

50.  Hughes,  T.  P.  Dictionary  of  Islam.  Scribner’s. 

51.  The  Moslem  World.  A Quarterly.  Christian  Literature  So- 
ciety for  India. 


39 


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PUBLICATIONS  OF  THE 
BOARD  OF  MISSIONARY  PREPARATION 


The  Second  Annual  Report  (1912) 

Containing  the  reports  on  “Fundamental  Qualifications  for  Missionary 
Work”  and  on  the  “Facilities  for  Training  Missionary  Candidates.” 

Paper,  price  25  cents,  postpaid. 

The  Third  Annual  Report  (1913) 

Rich  in  suggestions  concerning  the  special  training  which  evangelistic, 
educational,  medical,  and  women  missionaries  should  seek.  It  also  contains 
a report  on  the  use  of  the  missionary  furlough  and  a list  of  the  institutions 
which  offer  special  courses  for  candidates  along  these  lines  and  suggests 
valuable  courses  of  reading. 

Paper,  price  25  cents,,  postpaid. 

The  Fourth  Annual  Report  (1914) 

Containing  reports  on  preparation  for  different  fields,  such  as  China, 
India,  Japan,  Latin  America,  the  Near  East  and  Pagan  Africa.  It  also  in- 
cludes full  reports  of  the  two  important  Conferences  on  Preparation  of 
Ordained  Missionaries  and  Administrative  Problems. 

Paper,  price  50  cents,  postpaid. 

The  Fifth  Annual  Report  (1915) 

Containing  reports  of  two  important  Conferences  on  Preparation  of 
Women  for  Foreign  Service  and  Preparation  of  Medical  Missionaries,  be- 
sides other  reports. 

Paper,  price  25  cents,  postpaid. 

CONFERENCE  REPORTS. 

Report  of  the  Conference  on  the  Preparation  of  Ordained  Missionaries,  held 
December,  1914,  in  New  York.  Paper  covered,  price  10  cents. 
Report  of  the  Conference  on  the  Preparation  of  Women  for  Foreign  Service, 
held  December,  1915,  in  New  York.  Paper  covered,  price  10  cents. 
Report  of  the  Conference  on  the  Preparation  of  Medical  Missionaries,  held 
April,  1916,  in  New  York.  Paper  covered,  price  10  cents. 

REPRINTS  OF  SPECIAL  REPORTS. 

How  Shall  the  Missionary  Spend  His  Furlough?  Price  5 cents. 

The  Preparation  of  Ordained  Missionaries.  Price  10  cents. 

The  Preparation  of  Educational  Missionaries.  Price  10  cents. 

The  Preparation  of  Medical  Missionaries.  Price  10  cents. 

The  Preparation  of  Women  for  Foreign  Service.  Price  10  cents. 

The  Preparation  of  Missionaries  Appointed  to  China.  Price  10  cents. 

The  Preparation  of  Missionaries  Appointed  to  India.  Price  10  cents. 

The  Preparation  of  Missionaries  Appointed  to  Japan.  Price  10  cents. 

The  Preparation  of  Missionaries  Appointed  to  Latin  America.  Price  10  cents. 
The  Preparation  of  Missionaries  Appointed  to  the  Near  East.  Price  10  cents. 
The  Preparation  of  Missionaries  Appointed  to  Pagan  Africa.  Price  10  cents. 


